75 replies to this topic

[ITLKSEZ TT Bronze Member]

0macman0, on 07 May 2013 - 11:50 AM, said:

What are the signs for an air cooled motor?

I knew mine was overheating when I saw smoke coming off of the engine in places that it shouldn't have been, it was starting to run like it was in early stages of vapor lock (would only run at wider throttle openings and higher RPMs) and it was burning my legs in ways it never had before. And there is a smell you will never forget. On top of all, the oil smelled burnt after that ride. Surprisingly, the clutch never felt much different.

Baja Rambler, on 03 May 2013 - 11:44 AM, said:

Also, does anyone have a photo of the page in the XR4 owners manual that shows the illustration of oil recommendations by temperature?

[tinkerer1 TT Member]

Pre-ignition aka pinging, and a hot right leg! Abnormal burning smells are bad.

If you ride where and when its over 100F, you can't buy oil that is too good.

0macman0, on 07 May 2013 - 11:50 AM, said:

What are the signs for an air cooled motor?

Edited by tinkerer1, 07 May 2013 - 12:58 PM.

[0macman0 TT Bronze Member]

tinkerer1, on 07 May 2013 - 12:55 PM, said:

Pre-ignition aka pinging

Can you even hear the pinging over loud aftermarket exhaust with a helmet on?

[ITLKSEZ TT Bronze Member]

0macman0, on 07 May 2013 - 01:11 PM, said:

Can you even hear the pinging over loud aftermarket exhaust with a helmet on?

I forgot about the pinging. Yeah, you can hear it. The exhaust sound is behind you and the pinging is almost in front of you.

[Baja Rambler TT Silver Member]

Thanks. man.  It's not well written. but the asterisk says use 20W-50 for normal air temps.  

ITLKSEZ, on 07 May 2013 - 12:44 PM, said:

[ITLKSEZ TT Bronze Member]

Baja Rambler, on 07 May 2013 - 01:55 PM, said:

Thanks. man.  It's not well written. but the asterisk says use 20W-50 for normal air temps.  

Yeah, it is basically saying, "These bikes will run on dish water, but for best results and longest engine life, the thicker, the better."

[n2omike TT Bronze Member]

Synthetics will work at cooler temps than they show, as synthetics don't thin out as much as regular oils.
Mobil 1 15w50.  Best of everything.  

[GU520 TT Bronze Member]

ITLKSEZ, on 07 May 2013 - 12:44 PM, said:

Why not use "castor based racing oil"??  Anyone know?

[Baja Rambler TT Silver Member]

GU520, on 08 May 2013 - 12:26 AM, said:

Why not use "castor based racing oil"??  Anyone know?

It was very popular with two-stroke racers a long time ago at a 20:1mix ratio.

From Wikipedia which may not be the most credible source:
"However, castor oil tends to form gums in a short time, and its use is therefore restricted to engines that are regularly rebuilt, such as race engines."

[GU520 TT Bronze Member]

Baja Rambler, on 08 May 2013 - 05:38 PM, said:

It was very popular with two-stroke racers a long time ago at a 20:1mix ratio.

From Wikipedia which may not be the most credible source:
"However, castor oil tends to form gums in a short time, and its use is therefore restricted to engines that are regularly rebuilt, such as race engines."

Ok. Thanks.


Regarding the subject of this thread, personally I use fully synthetic oil for my XR400 and also for my XT600.  The reason is the high temp tolerances of synthetic.  A good thing in a air cooled (dirt)bikes IMHO.

I  was not convinced until about three years ago when I was riding my XR4 ultra slowly in rocky terrain.   The oil I was using at the time was non-synthetic, and it was fine 98% of the time.  But this time (slow riding on a hot day)  there was this unpleasant oily smell, the oil burning or something in it vaporizing.   Either way, not good.

But in a water cooled bike, I am not convinced it matters.

[Baja Rambler TT Silver Member]

Iceland!  You're a good candidate for the 5W-40 T6.  It's probably too cold to ride if you need less than 5W. lol

The water cooled bikes tell you when they're too hot by boiling over.

Edited by Baja Rambler, 09 May 2013 - 01:38 PM.

[0macman0 TT Bronze Member]

ITLKSEZ, on 07 May 2013 - 12:44 PM, said:

On top of all, the oil smelled burnt after that ride.

Did it look burnt as well? The reason I ask, is I went to the sand dunes two weeks ago with fresh Rotella T dino and towards then end of the ride (about 35 miles), the shifting got really notchy and the bike seemed to be running hotter than normal. I just replaced the left crankcase cover from a previous accident a week ago after the ride and the oil seemed to smell funny, and it is definately darker than I would've expected for such a sort interval. I haven't had a chance to change the oil yet, but it's still notchy on the shifting. I can't recall bad smells, pinging, or boiling oil however. I didn't take the dipstick out to check right after the ride, wish I would have. Also, I didn't have a paddle, just a fresh knobbie, so I really worked the bike and had a hard time getting on top of the sand. It was slow going.  Needless to say I'm going back to high end synthetic.  Did you damage anything the time you overheated?

Edited by 0macman0, 09 May 2013 - 01:51 PM.

[ITLKSEZ TT Bronze Member]

0macman0, on 09 May 2013 - 01:44 PM, said:

Did it look burnt as well? Did you damage anything the time you overheated?

Look burnt? IDK, that oil always looks pretty hammered regardless of when I change it. It looked about "normal" I guess... black and full of miniature stripper glitter.

Time will tell about the damage, I guess. I could have sworn that smell was the gaskets cooking, but nothing ever seemed different; no leaks or lost compression. I just keep givin' her hell and she takes it!

[tinkerer1 TT Member]

If your oil always looks hammered you might want to consider shortening the interval.  Mine works hard in high heat and I never take it to 'hammered'.

[ITLKSEZ TT Bronze Member]

"Hammered," as compared to a water cooled car engine that doesn't have a clutch in it. It is as good or as bad as any other air-cooled bike engine oil I have ever seen.

[Baja Rambler TT Silver Member]

chuck4788, on 09 April 2013 - 12:47 PM, said:

This is the best article on MC oils that I know of: http://motorcycleinf....com/Oils1.html

I finally got a chance to read this lengthy article which I found very enlightening!  

The author says he doesn't care about a JASO rating and has a high regard for diesel truck oils in general.

Here is a quote from the article:
[font=Times][size=1]
"Mobil-1 automotive oils all contain small amounts of moly - about 100 to 200 ppm. This can cause clutch slippage in some motorcycles. I've only heard of this being a problem in Honda Shadows."[/size][/font]


Bobistheoilguy has some used oil analysis reports on M1 15w-50 which show between 55 and 82 ppm of molybdenum.